Gas supplying apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for supplying gas at a reduced pressure from a pressure vessel containing a gas under pressure and having an outlet valve fitted thereon has a plurality of nozzle means. A plurality of stacked spaced-apart chamber means communicates with, and is disposed so as to be alternately supported between the plurality of nozzle means. One of the nozzle means is an inlet nozzle communicating with the gas under pressure. Another of the nozzle means is an outlet nozzle communicating with the outlet valve to thereby provide an expansion path for the gas. Additionally, the apparatus includes a receiving tube disposed about the stacked array of alternately placed nozzle means and chamber means with one end of the receiving tube threadably engaging the outlet valve.

United States Patent [191 Uecker Dec. 17, 1974 GAS SUPPLYING APPARATUS [75} Inventor: Emil Uecker, Hamburg, Germany [73] Assignees: Albert Hoffmann, Westrhauderfeh;

Hans Spechtmeyer, Leer, both of, Germany [22] Filed: July 9, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 377,354

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 25, 1972 Germany 2236404 [52] 11.8. Cl 137/544, 137/590, 251/118 [51] Int. Cl. Fl6k 47/00 [58] Field Of Search 137/590, 544, 549;

251/118, 127; 220/44 A, 85 V, DIG. 16; 138/26, 40, 41, 44

Kaye l 137/549 X Vean 251/127 X [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for supplying gas at a reduced pressure from a pressure vessel containing a gas under pressure and having an outlet valve fitted thereon has a plurality of nozzle means. A plurality of stacked spacedapart chamber means communicates with, and is disposed so as to be alternately supported between the plurality of nozzle means. One of the nozzle means is an inlet nozzle communicating with the gas under pressure. Another of the nozzle means is an outlet nozzle communicating with the outlet valve to thereby provide an expansion path for the gas. Additionally, the apparatus includes a receiving tube disposed about the stacked array of alternately placed nozzle means and chamber means with one end of the receiving tube threadably engaging the outlet valve.

14 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure GAS SUPPLYING APPARATUS The invention relates to a gas supplying apparatus and more particularly to an oxygen apparatus of the kind in which the oxygen under pressure, in the interior of a pressure bottle, flows out through a reducing system arranged in the bottle after a shut-off valve has been opened. The apparatus may be used to serve, or supply, oxygen to sick persons or casualties, and at the same time may be used to supply rooms with oxygen.

An apparatus of the above kind is already known whose mode of operation is based on the fact that a capillary tube provided with bends is connected upstream of the shut-off valve.

The efiect of the pressure drop in the capillary tube is based on the principle of the Hagen-Poiseuille law which states that, in a laminar flow, the length of the capillary tube is directly proportional to the pressure drop. The resistance of the capillary tube is increased a considerable extent, by turbulence which occurs at high volume velocities. The associated vibration subjects the joint between the capillary tube and the shutoff valve to mechanical stress. The alteration in the structure of the material resulting from the considerable drop in temperature, promoted by the vibration, readily leads to the failure of known apparatus. Consequently, the capillary tube cannot be fitted in an oxygen bottle of large volume, and cannot be used in a system having coupled oxygen bottles. The abovementioned system does not include any arrangement to prevent the drop in temperature at high volume velocities.

The present invention provides an apparatus for supplying gas comprising a pressre bottle adapted to be filled with a gas under pressure, which gas is arranged to flow out under reduced pressure through a reducing system of the apparatus. The apparatus is located in the bottle. And, the gas flows out after an outlet valve has been opened. The reducing system comprises alternatively combined nozzles and chambers forming an outlet expansion path for the gas.

The effect of the pressure drop in this system of turbulence chambers and nozzles is based on the Carnot pressure loss. The Carnot shock loss formula is as follows:

The mathematical loss of pressure during relief of stress is based on the continuation law of Bernoulli:

where:

P is the pressure loss to be determined;

P is the pressure of the medium after relieving the stress;

P is the pressure of the entering medium is the specific weight (weights) of mediums;

2g is twice the acceleration of earth (g 9.81 m/sec*);

('y/2g) is the density of medium;

W is the speed of the flowing medium before the relief; and

W is the speed of the flowing medium after the relief of pressure.

The system of turbulence chambers and nozzles uses the turbulence to intensify the effect of the pressure drop by the pressure loss attributable to the turbulence. It is possible for the gas to expand in the successive chambers. Thus, energy is taken from the surroundings in a stepwise manner by coupling a plurality of nozzles and chambers to each other, and is returned to the chambers through a copper tube enclosing the chambers. Thus, ice is prevented from forming in the shutoff valve, even at high outflow velocities.

The arrangement of nozzles and chambers is accommodated in a completely rigid and vibration-free manner in an above-mentioned receiving tube connected to the valve of the bottle. This has the advantage that the arrangement of nozzles and chambers forms an assembly unit together with the receiving tube.

In order to obtain a particularly advantageous expansion effect, and in accordance with a preferred feature of the invention, some of the chambers are of pearshaped construction, while some of the chambers are of spherical construction. The pear-shaped chambers should be located at the beginning of the expansion path and the spherical chambers should be located at the end of the expansion path.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, there should be four chambers, the last chamber having an outlet nozzle opening into the valve of the bottle. This results in particularly advantageous turbulence and expansion. The expansion effect is additionally improved by a further feature of the invention in that the nozzles have diameters which increase from the oxygen tank towards the valve of the bottle, the two centre nozzles have the same diameter.

The advantages of the apparatus proposed by the invention reside in the fact that oxygen supply apparatus remains free from ice, and thus functions reliably without the risk of mechanical faults for periods of time lasting for several hours. This makes the apparatus particularly suitable for clinical purposes. Consequently, the invention can be used in a system having coupled oxygen bottles. Tests have shown that the apparatus in accordance with the invention functions reliably both in tropical and in arctic conditions. Furthermore, apparatus provided with the described reducing device can be refilled at any industrial oxygen plant.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an expansion valve that is resistant to mechanical vibration and the thermal shock associated with expanding gasses.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an expansion valve that is simple in design and reliable in operation.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from reference to the drawing which discloses an embodiment of the present inventron.

The drawing shows an oxygen bottle 10 in which oxygen under high pressure is contained. The oxygen bottle has a shut-off valve 1 1, a manometer l2, and an outlet connection piece 13.

A reducing system is located in the interior of bottle 10 and comprises four chambers 1 to 4 arranged inside a receiving tube 5. The chambers are 11 mm in diameter and are interconnected by respective nozzles of the nozzles 6a, 6a, 6b, 6b and 6c. The first two chambers l and 2 are of pear-shaped configuration, and the two chambers 3 and 4 are spherical. The oxygen enters chamber 1 by way of a filter 8 and the inlet nozzle 6a which has a diameter of 0.20 mm, and enters the chamber 2 by way of the second nozzle 6a which has a diameter of 0.20 mm. Oxygen enters the spherical chamber 3 through the nozzle 6b having a diameter of 0.30 mm, and is fed to the spherical chamber 4 through a further nozzle 6b having a diameter of 0.30 mm. The outlet nozzle 6c of chamber 4 has a diameter of 0.40 mm and opens into the shut-off valve 11 from where the gas is fed, for example to a patient. The receiving tube is tightly screwed to the shut-off valve 11 and the chamber l is connected to the receiving tube 5 by means of a soldered joint 7. The length of the receiving tube 5 is approximately 85 mm. The indicator manometer 12 is mounted on the shut-off valve 11 and permanently indicates the supply pressure of oxygen. The indicator manometer is under pressure even when the valve is closed.

While only a single embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A medical (An) apparatus for supplying gas at a reduced pressure from (a) an oxygen bottle pressure vessel containing a pressureized gas and having an outlet valve fitted thereon comprising:

an oxygen bottle;

a plurality of nozzle means arranged in said oxygen bottle; and

a plurality of stacked spaced-apart chamber means communicating with and disposed so as to be alternately supported between said plurality of nozzle means, one of said plurality of nozzle means being an inlet nozzle communicating with the gas under pressure in said oxygen bottle and another of said plurality of nozzle means being an outlet nozzle communicating with (the) said outlet valve to thereby provide an expansion path for the gas from the inlet to the outlet nozzle as it proceeds alternately through said plurality of nozzle means and chamber means.

2. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality of chamber means is a substantially pear-shaped chamber having 2. largest diameter of approximately ll mm.

3. The apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said pearshaped chamber is located at the beginning of the expansion path adjacent the inlet nozzle.

4. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality chamber means is a substantially spher- 5 jacent the outlet nozzle.

6. The apparatus as in claim I in which each of said plurality of nozzle means has an inside diameter equal to or less than the next adjacent one of said plurality of nozzle means in the direction from the inlet nozzle to the outlet nozzle.

7. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said chamber means comprises four chambers, and wherein said nozzle means comprises five nozzles, three of said nozzles communicating between adjacent ones of said chambers, and wherein another of said nozzles forms the inlet nozzle and the fifth one of said nozzles forms the outlet nozzle communicating with the outlet valve.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 wherein the first two of said nozzles in the expansion path comprise the beginning of the expansion path and have an internal diameter of 0.20 mm.

9. The apparatus as in claim 8 wherein the third and fourth of said nozzles comprising the expansion path have an internal diameter of 0.30 mm.

10. The apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the fifth one of said nozzles comprising the end of the expansion path is the outlet nozzle having an internal diameter of 0.40 mm.

. 1 1. The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein the first two of said chambers are pear-shaped and have a diameter of l 1 mm. and the last two of said chambers are spherical shaped and have a diameter of 1 1 mm,

12. The apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a receiving tube disposed about said plurality of nozzle means and chambers means, said receiving tube having a total length of approximately mm and having one end secured to the first one of said chamber means at the beginning of the expansion path, the other end of said receiving tube threadably engaging the outlet valve on the vessel.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12 further comprising a filter disposed about the inlet nozzle.

14. The apparatus as in claim 13 wherein the outlet valve includes a manometer independently communicating with the gas under pressure so as to be operative with the valve opened and closed respectively. 

1. A medical (An) apparatus for supplying gas at a reduced pressure from (a) an oxygen bottle pressure vessel containing a pressureized gas and having an outlet valve fitted thereon comprising: an oxygen bottle; a plurality of nozzle means arranged in said oxygen bottle; and a plurality of stacked spaced-apart chamber means communicating with and disposed so as to be alternately supported between said plurality of nozzle means, one of said plurality of nozzle means being an inlet nozzle communicating with the gas under pressure in said oxygen bottle and another of said plurality of nozzle means being an outlet nozzle communicating with (the) said outlet valve to thereby provide an expansion path for the gas from the inlet to the outlet nozzle as it proceeds alternately through said plurality of nozzle means and chamber means.
 2. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality of chamber means is a substantially pear-shaped chamber having a largest diameter of approximately 11 mm.
 3. The apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said pear-shaped chamber is located at the beginning of the expansion path adjacent the inlet nozzle.
 4. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality chamber means is a substantially spherical chamber having a diameter of approximately 11 mm.
 5. The apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said spherical chamber is located at the end of the expansion path adjacent the outlet nozzle.
 6. The apparatus as in claim 1 in which each of said plurality of nozzle means has an inside diameter equal to or less than the next adjacent one of said plurality of nozzle means in the direction from the inlet nozzle to the outlet nozzle.
 7. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said chamber means comprises four chambers, and wherein said nozzle means comprises five nozzles, three of said nozzles communicating between adjacent ones of said chambers, and wherein another of said nozzles forms the inlet nozzle and the fifth one of said nozzles forms the outlet nozzle communicating with the outlet valve.
 8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 wherein the first two of said nozzles in the expansion path comprise the beginning of the expansion path and have an internal diameter of 0.20 mm.
 9. The apparatus as in claim 8 wherein the third and fourth of said nozzles comprising the expansion path have an internal diameter of 0.30 mm.
 10. The apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the fifth one of said nozzles comprising the end of the expansion path is the outlet nozzle having an internal diameter of 0.40 mm.
 11. The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein the first two of said chambers are pear-shaped and have a diameter of 11 mm. and the last two of said chambers are spherical shaped and have a diameter of 11 mm.
 12. The apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a receiving tube disposed about said plurality of nozzle means and chambers means, said Receiving tube having a total length of approximately 85 mm and having one end secured to the first one of said chamber means at the beginning of the expansion path, the other end of said receiving tube threadably engaging the outlet valve on the vessel.
 13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12 further comprising a filter disposed about the inlet nozzle.
 14. The apparatus as in claim 13 wherein the outlet valve includes a manometer independently communicating with the gas under pressure so as to be operative with the valve opened and closed respectively. 